Editing Deva (section)

==Biology==
Devas are tall, imperious-looking, eerily beautiful and still humanoids most easily distinguished by their two-toned skin. A deva always bears two-toned skin, patterned in dark (blue, purple, dark-gray, black) and light (chalk-white, pale-gray), with the patterning always being unique to that individual deva, both in terms of whether dark or light is the "primary" color and the precise shape, number and arrangement of the patches of the secondary color. Their eyes are a solid pale gray or white color, whilst their hair is usually one (or both) of the colors as their skin - exceptions do exist.

Created from angels through the powers of the Primal Spirits, devas defy the normal life cycle. A deva is "born" as a fully-grown adult, and from that point is unaging, living until either violence strikes it down or time wearies it enough that it chooses to "drop the body" and start afresh. The bodiless essence of a dead deva exists in the same shadowy spirit-realm as the primal spirits, and many believe they can interact with the living world in much the same way. This state typically lasts for 1 to 7 years, but has been known to last longer - up to a century or more, in the cases of particularly horrible deaths or prolonged experiences spent manifest in a single identity.

Reincarnation happens randomly at various spots sacred to the Primal Spirits, and often to benevolent gods as well. Their spiritual essence keeps these locales safe, ensuring that nothing shows up to harm the youthful deva newborn. That said, there is no discernable rhyme or reason to ''where'' a deva will reincarnate; they may show up on the other side of the planet. Normally, only one deva manifests in a given spot at a time, but on rare occasions deep bonds between deceased devas causes two or more to manifest in a single spot, something referred to as either "twinning" (when only two show up), or "bonded incarnation". A reincarnated deva is a near-complete tabula rasa; born fully mature physically, and with a strong enough connection to the memories of its past selves to understand the basics of speech and looking after itself, but with its old personality swept away. Events from the last incarnation subtly influence the development of physical and mental traits, but the newborn deva is just that; newborn. Even a complete sex-change is far from unheard of.

Talking of sex, despite being incapable of breeding with each other, devas are not only sexually active beings, but can procreate with members of other races. These offspring inherit the species of their non-deva parent, but their souls are suffused with the stuff of the Astral Sea, making them inherently stronger and more awe-inspiring than normal.